WASHINGTON — The Washington Post this week took an in-depth look at the health benefits of tea and how consumers are taking notice. And that's a good thing for specialty tea shops and supermarket chains.

As the report notes, "Nationally, tea purchases have risen for 20 consecutive years, annual supermarket sales have surpassed $2.2 billion, and away-from home consumption of tea has grown by at least 10% a year for a decade," that according to the Tea Association of the USA.

The report cites five classifications for tea: black, white, green, oolong and puerh, and notes experts believe all provide health benefits. "Many scientists link health benefits to tea’s polyphenol antioxidants, which protect against oxidative stress, but others say they don’t know exactly which chemicals or combinations of chemicals in tea produce the benefits. [Thomas G. Sherman, an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at Georgetown University Medical Center,] for example, said there’s no evidence connecting tea’s antioxidants to beneficial effects, and he pointed to a study showing that black tea reduces LDL, or 'bad,' cholesterol without affecting antioxidant levels, suggesting something else in tea is causing this."

“We don’t clearly understand why tea is so beneficial, but we know it is,” said Sherman, as quoted by the Washington Post. “There are lots of epidemiological studies, and so of course people see these studies and want to drink tea and gain these benefits.”